By the late 1970s, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus was considered one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican—and certainly one of its most controversial.
Literature
Posted inFilm
In ‘Hamnet,’ Shakespeare is still obscuring his wife
Is ‘Hamnet’ and art work like it the best we can do for the nameless sisterhood of the past?
Posted inBooks
New graphic novel brings Sister Helen Prejean’s story to next generation of anti-death penalty activists
‘Dead Man Walking’ has proven compelling enough to thrive across its many mediums. The most recent version, a graphic novel illustrated by Catherine Anyango Grünewald and scripted by Rose Vines, is no exception.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Cardinal John J. O’Connor and the role of military chaplains: to be both shepherd and prophet
In 1982, ‘America’ paired essays by Cardinal John O’Connor and Gordon Zahn, the noted American sociologist and peace advocate, on the topic of “Military Chaplains: Defining Their Ministry.”
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Henri Nouwen died 30 years ago—but he still speaks to the modern seeker’s soul
Whether writing on Christian spirituality, faith, psychology, pastoral care or another of his many interests, the Rev. Henri Nouwen always emphasized the importance of embracing one’s own vulnerability and finding the human in the other.
Posted inBooks
George Saunders loves telling ghost stories
George Saunders’s place among the best living American writers is secure. And while Saunders is not often included in discussions of the best Catholic writers, in both his upbringing and his thematic concerns, his work fits solidly in the Catholic literary tradition.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Frank Gehry’s religious imagination—and a little Los Angeles chapel
Frank Gehry’s creations have charmed and sometimes puzzled the world—but what would a cathedral designed by him look like?
Posted inBooks
Review: A Steve Martin smorgasbord
Steve Martin’s new memoir offers an honest look at the deeply human struggles and achievements behind his “wild and crazy guy” persona.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ and church-state tensions
Brenda Wineapple’s ‘Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation’—about the famous Scopes “monkey trial,” is timely. Then again, church-state conflicts simply never go away in the United States.
Posted inBooks
The fertility crisis and moving beyond the ‘good mother’ myth
What if we all thought less about being mothers and more about raising children? What if we focused on the children’s vocational raising instead of the mother’s rigid label?